Standing Up to Bullying: Awareness, Prevention, and the Fight for Stronger Laws

Every day, children across the country face taunts, threats, and exclusion that leave lasting scars. October’s National Bullying Prevention Month is a reminder that these struggles are real and preventable. National Bullying Prevention Month is a time to recognize the serious effects of bullying, highlight efforts to prevent it, and reaffirm our commitment to keeping children and families safe. 

At Morgan & Morgan, we’ve seen firsthand how bullying can affect not just victims but entire families, and we’ve also seen how advocacy and legal action can bring about meaningful change.

What is Bullying?

Bullying is unwanted, aggressive behavior among children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance that is repeated over time. Three elements define bullying:

• Intentional Aggression: Behavior meant to harm, intimidate, or humiliate.
• Imbalance of Power: The bully holds an advantage, such as physical strength, popularity, or anonymity.
• Repetition: Bullying is not a one-time event, but rather an ongoing pattern of behavior.

Bullying often shows up as threats, rumors, hurtful words, or deliberate exclusion, all tactics meant to cause harm or isolate someone.

Types of Bullying

Bullying can take several forms, and understanding them can be the first step to prevention. 

• Physical Bullying: Hitting, pushing, tripping, spitting, or damaging personal property.
• Verbal Bullying: Name-calling, insults, teasing, threats, or inappropriate comments.
• Social/Relational Bullying: Deliberately excluding someone, spreading rumors, or embarrassing them in front of others.
• Cyberbullying: Harassment through texts, emails, gaming platforms, or social media.

Each form can cause long-lasting harm - from physical injuries to emotional trauma, making early intervention and consistent accountability essential.

When and Where Bullying Happens

Bullying doesn’t always look the same, and it can happen just about anywhere kids or teens interact. In schools, it often occurs in hallways, classrooms, cafeterias, or playgrounds - areas where adults may not be closely watching. Online, bullying can happen around the clock on social media, chat apps, or gaming platforms - making it harder for kids to escape.

Bullying isn’t confined to school hours; it can happen at events, in neighborhoods, and online, often following kids wherever they go. And with the rise of digital platforms, cyberbullying can follow kids home, leaving them feeling unsafe even in what should be their most comfortable space.

Frequency of Bullying

Bullying isn’t a rare occurrence; it impacts nearly one in five students nationwide. According to a 2022 federal survey, about 19.2% of students ages 12–18 reported being bullied. While the numbers can vary depending on age, school environment, and location, the takeaway is clear: bullying is far too common.

What makes it especially challenging is that bullying doesn’t usually happen just once. It’s often repeated behavior that builds over time, creating lasting emotional, social, and sometimes even physical harm. 

Cyberbullying is a growing concern for today’s teens. In 2025, nearly six in ten students reported experiencing some form of online harassment during their lifetimes, with a third saying they had been targeted in the past month alone. Common experiences include being excluded from group chats, receiving hurtful comments, being embarrassed online, or having rumors spread about them.

The rise of smartphones, social media, and anonymous messaging platforms has made it all too easy for bullying to follow teens outside of school and into their daily lives. With these pressures affecting so many young people, prevention and awareness have never been more important. Parents, educators, and communities must work together to create safer online environments and equip teens with the tools to navigate the digital world confidently.

Signs Your Child Might Be Being Bullied

Spotting bullying early is crucial to preventing it from causing deeper harm. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), children experiencing bullying may show emotional, physical, or school-related warning signs. Here’s what to watch for:

• Physical Signs: Unexplained bruises, cuts, torn clothing, missing items, or frequent complaints of stomachaches or headaches.
• Emotional Changes: Sudden shifts in mood, anxiety, depression, or signs of post-traumatic stress, like sleep disturbances.
• Behavioral Shifts: A drop in grades, reluctance to go to school, frequent absences, social withdrawal, or loss of interest in friends and activities.

While these signs don’t prove bullying, they warrant a thoughtful conversation and, if needed, follow-up. If multiple warning signals appear together, it’s worth checking in to offer support and to take action when necessary.

Why Bullying Prevention Matters

Bullying is no longer confined to the schoolyard. It follows kids onto buses, into locker rooms, and, increasingly, onto their phones and laptops. Cyberbullying, in particular, allows harassment to spread far beyond school walls, often without adult supervision.

Even with schools and communities working to curb bullying, it remains a widespread issue affecting countless children each year.

Bullying is more than hurt feelings. It can lead to depression, anxiety, school avoidance, social withdrawal, and, in the most tragic cases, suicide. That’s why legal protections and proactive interventions are so critical.

Rebecca’s Law: Turning Grief Into Action

In 2013, 12-year-old Rebecca Sedwick took her own life after enduring months of relentless bullying and cyberbullying from classmates. Her mother, Tricia Norman, vowed that no other parent should have to endure the same heartbreak. With the help of Morgan & Morgan attorney Matt Morgan, she became the driving force behind Rebecca’s Law, a bill introduced in Florida to criminalize all forms of bullying.

“This legislation will make parents and students aware that bullying is a crime,” Matt Morgan said at a press conference. “We believe that Rebecca’s Law will deter students from bullying others in the future and will potentially save lives.”

The bill proposed criminal charges for bullying: first-time offenders could face a misdemeanor, while repeat offenders could face a felony. For State Rep. Heather Fitzhagen, who sponsored the bill, the legislation was about more than punishment; it was about awareness. “I think this is going to raise awareness because now there is a consequence to this type of behavior,” she explained.

For Norman, the mission was deeply personal. “I don’t want anybody else to go through what our family’s gone through,” she said. “This is what my daughter would’ve wanted me to do in her honor.”

Matt Morgan emphasized that schools also have a role to play: “Schools need to make sure they have the proper resources to address the epidemic of bullying. This campaign that Rebecca’s mother has initiated is a campaign of goodwill for others. I can tell you personally we have received an enormous amount of support for what we are doing.”

Rebecca’s Law became a rallying point in the movement against bullying, an example of how personal tragedy can spark meaningful change.

Do Anti-Bullying Laws Work?

States with strong, clearly defined anti-bullying laws often see big drops in bullying: about 24% fewer in-person incidents and 20% fewer cyberbullying reports.

But laws alone can't stop bullying. The most effective efforts happen when schools, families, and communities work together, when educators know how to spot bullying, peers speak up, and everyone treats respect as the norm.

This demonstrates that laws serve a purpose beyond merely creating penalties. They empower schools, teachers, and parents to take action, and they send a clear message: bullying is unacceptable.

Steps Communities and Schools Can Take

Stopping bullying takes a combined effort. Laws and parental involvement are crucial, but schools and communities are often the front lines. Some of the most effective strategies and resources include:

• Clear Policies: Schools should define what constitutes bullying and have transparent systems for reporting and addressing it.
• Education and Training: Teachers, staff, and even students should be trained to recognize bullying and intervene.
• Peer Support: Programs that encourage students to look out for one another and stand up against bullying can shift the culture.
• Resources for Victims: Access to counselors, mental health services, and safe spaces can help students recover and feel supported.

A Shared Responsibility

Bullying prevention is not the job of one person or one institution; it’s a shared responsibility. Parents, teachers, schools, lawmakers, and communities all play a part. Laws like Rebecca’s Law show how advocacy can create change, while awareness campaigns keep the issue in the public eye.

At Morgan & Morgan, we stand with families who have suffered because of bullying. Whether it’s through advocacy, litigation, or amplifying the voices of important individuals like Tricia Norman’s, we remain committed to fighting for safer schools and communities.

Every step we take, whether passing laws, educating students, or standing beside families, brings us closer to a world where no child feels powerless against bullying.